Exclusive Interview with "Dynamite" Danny Seigle
In light of Japeth Aguilar?s quest to make it in the NBA and the Filipino?s dream to make it in the world?s premiere basketball league, I spoke to 9-time Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Star Danny Seigle - who at one point had a realistic shot at accomplishing that feat - to get his insights on the matter.
The 36-year-old, 6?6? forward enjoyed a successful college basketball career at NCAA Div. 1 school Wagner College in New York under coach Tim Capstraw, finishing sixth in the school?s all time scoring list, while averaging 19.5 points, and 5.7 rebounds per game in his final year with the Seahawks.
In this exclusive interview, Seigle shared his experiences, and offered his invaluable wisdom to Aguilar and to any aspiring Filipino who plans to shoot for the stars and make it to the NBA.
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DG ? ?You had an impressive college career at Wagner, which is a D1 NCAA school. I'm sure you had dreams of making it to the NBA. Can you share to us if you took steps in pursuing that after college??
Danny Seigle ? ?When I finished my senior year at Wagner College, a division 1 school in New York, I was an All NEC first team, averaging 19 pts. and became the 6th all time leading scorer at Wagner having scored over 1600 points. Because of my notable stats at the Division 1 level, I attracted several different sports agencies in the US.
They brought to my attention the risks of signing up for pre-draft camps, stressing the point that they could either make you or break you. If you do not have a good showing or make a great first impression, that alone could ruin your chances.
They advised me to gain experience, put my NBA ambitions on hold, because my college stats alone was enough to secure an overseas job, having offers mostly from Europe.
The summer after my junior year, I had the opportunity to visit my older brother Andy, who was playing in the Philippine Basketball Association, and immediately was in awe of this place, the people and its culture. Needless to say I?m Filipino too, so the Philippines was an easy choice for me.
I was thinking about trying out after two pro years in the PBA, but plans got sidelined when I ruptured my Achilles. I have little regret as I am happy with my career here thus far, the relationships I made, the championships I won, the total experience has been just a complete blessing and one that I never take for granted.?
DG ? ?Compare the US and college game to the PBA.?
Danny Seigle ? ?The first thing that comes to mind when I compare the U.S. and college game to the PBA, is size, athleticism, and the quality of training which starts at a young age.
In the U.S., you are forced to develop certain skills and play at a higher level if you want to gain any advantage over your opponents, whether it?s being faster or having greater elevation along with everyday tough competition that molds you into the player you will become.
There are just far more taller, bigger athletes than there are here, and you can simply blame that on genetics! That's why they allow you to naturalize players for international competitions to somewhat level off the playing field. It's not uncommon to see a 6'6 playing the two-guard position in the US. In the PBA at that height you may find yourself playing center.?
DG ? ?In light of Japeth Aguilar's quest to make it to the NBA, can you give me an honest assessment of his chances, and things he needs to improve on to get there? What do you think about Japeth's efforts? Will this inspire future NBA aspirants, and if so, how far off do you think are Filipinos from making it to the NBA??
Danny Seigle ? ?I commend Japeth's efforts in following his dreams of making it to the NBA! By doing so, it does open doors for other aspirants that may want to follow.
We're all rooting for him.
Because of his gift of height and athleticism, there are many coaches around that may like to take on a ?potential? like Japeth, and I hope he catches someone?s eye.
Realistically, you are going up against the best talents in the world who have already established their names at big time schools or in European leagues -
very difficult, to say the least.
I tried to do a little research on how many players make it to the NBA from the Development league and its quite vague. You have so many that are sent up and sent back that its hard to pinpoint an exact number or what constitutes making it to the NBA from the D-league.
I'd like to see Japeth go to a place where he will be the focal point of a team, where he can develop the "all important" confidence needed to dominate the competition.
I extend the advice given to me by my college coach, which is to know your strengths as a player and master them. You have to specialize a role where you can stick out amongst the competition, whether it being the best shooter, the best rebounder, the best defender. Coaches are always looking for players that fit their system, so the all-around player that are just "good" at everything will not stand out as much as the players that are "great" at particular things.
We will see a full-blooded Filipino in the NBA some day, and I'm thinking it will be in the form of a guard.?
DG ? ?Who's your all-time, and current favorite NBA player and why??
Danny Seigle ? ?Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett. They all have changed the game in one way or another.?
DG ? ?Who do you think will win it all this year in the NBA? ?
Danny Seigle ? ?Since I?m a Celtic's fan, I'd like to say Boston as they will be a legit contender, but Miami is poised to repeat.?
RELATED STORY: Talk 'N Text coach Black says they will welcome Aguilar back with open arms
** Legal waiver - By quoting, copying and using material from this article to your website, publication or blog, you agree to give full credit to Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo and Examiner.com, provide a link / hyperlink to the original article. **
Dennis is an MMA and Filipino Sports writer for Examiner.com; boxing writer for BoxingScene.com; NBA writer for NBA.com Philippines; sportswriter for the Sun Star newspaper, The Guardians newspaper in the Philippines; TV host for Fil-Am TV; contributor to PTV Sports on channel 4, 5-6 pm in the Philippines; TV5's InterAksyon.com. You can follow him on Twitter @dRealSource.
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